Tessa's Recipe Rundown...

Taste: I just adore the combination of chocolate and raspberry, especially when a heaping of nutty Nutella is mixed in. Chocolate lover’s dream!Texture: These chocolate cupcakes are perfection – wonderfully tender and moist while sturdy enough to be filled and frosted generously.Ease: Very easy yet impressive!Appearance: Cupcakes are so easy to make beautiful. Any of these piping tips from my favorite cupcake set will do the job beautifully.Pros: Perfect homemade cupcakes.Cons: Sinful.Would I make this again? 100% yes!

This cupcake recipe would be absolutely perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or for any chocolate lover.

The combination of raspberry, chocolate, and Nutella is absolutely magnificent. Any chocoholic will be in heaven! But the best part about this recipe?

Surprising whoever takes that first bite with the hidden Nutella filling. YUM. If you don’t like Nutella (what’s wrong with you?! just kidding… sorta) then feel free to fill with more raspberry preserves from the frosting.

Cupcake Baking Tips

Although this recipe is pretty straight-forward, there’s some tips I’d like to highlight.

How to Make MOIST Chocolate Cupcakes

When it comes to baking, one of the most important things is knowing how to measure correctly. It’s super easy to accidentally compact way too much flour and even cocoa powder into your measuring cup. When this happens, it leads to dry and dense cake.

Cocoa Powder

This chocolate cupcake recipe calls for Dutch Process cocoa powder, which can be found at some grocery stores (like Whole Foods) or most speciality or gourmet food stores (Williams-Sonoma, Sur la Table, etc.) I find the best value is this big tub of the stuff from Amazon!

If we’re talking about the science of baking (one of my favorite topics!), Dutch cocoa powder works differently in a recipe than regular cocoa powder. That’s why you want to be sure to use the right kind, because the recipe may not work properly otherwise. If you’d like to learn more, I have a full detailed post all about the differences between Dutch and regular cocoa powders.

You might be wondering how we get away with using Dutch cocoa + baking soda in this recipe? Well it’s all thanks to the vinegar at the bottom of the ingredient list. Don’t skip it!

Bread Flour?

Yes, it may seem strange that a cake recipe calls for bread flour. If you’ve ever made chocolate cupcakes or cakes that sank in the middle, then you might be able to guess why this ingredient works well here. Chocolate cakes are often so rich and moist that the structure of the cake can’t hold up.

That’s where bread flour comes into play with its higher percentage of protein than AP flour. It helps to develop more gluten to create a firmer structure. Don’t worry, these cupcakes still remain perfectly tender and rich!

If you don’t have bread flour, feel free to use all-purpose flour instead.

Why Use Hot Coffee in Chocolate Cake Batter?

Hot liquid helps to “bloom” the cocoa powder. This essentially means it intensifies the chocolate flavor and helps the cocoa incorporate into the batter without becoming chunky or chalky.

If you don’t have coffee on hand, feel free to substitute with plain hot water. Or, use a combination of plain hot water + 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder. The coffee simply enhances the chocolate flavor, you don’t actually taste it!

Filling with Nutella

Possibly the best part of this recipe, filling with Nutella is made quick and easy with two tools: an apple corer and a ziptop baggie. Use the corer to evenly remove the center of each cupcake (this is also a great way to sample the cake to make sure it turned out nicely…). Then spoon the Nutella into the baggie, snip a hole about the diameter of the corer, and squeeze the Nutella into each cavity.

Raspberry Buttercream Tips

The raspberry buttercream in this recipe is really simple. I suggest following the recipe exactly. I’ve found that using seedless raspberry preserves gives the smoothest texture that’s sturdy enough to pipe. You can also really taste the raspberry flavor this way. Fresh raspberries can be too watery, and raspberry jam with seeds adds an undesirable texture (at least in my opinion).

The raspberry preserves give a faint pink hue to the frosting. If you want a bolder color, use a very small amount of red gel food coloring.

Directions

For the cupcakes:

Place the chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour hot coffee over the mixture. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth then set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with foil or paper liners.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together.

Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until smooth. Using a spring-loaded scoop or a large spoon, divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

Bake until cupcakes are set and firm to the touch, about 17 to 19 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely. Using an apple corer or pairing knife, slice a small section of the center of the cupcake for the Nutella, being careful not to slice through the bottom. Fill each hole with 1 heaping teaspoon of Nutella.

For the buttercream:

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Add the raspberry preserves and beat until light and fluffy. For a more saturated color, add a few drops of red food coloring, if desired.

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fit with a decorative piping tip. Pipe frosting directly onto the stuffed cupcakes. Serve or store at room temperature for a day or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Course:
Dessert

Cuisine:
American

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with #handletheheat so we can all see!

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

I’ve read the Outlander books. I wasn’t a huge fan of her writing style however she created these characters that I loved and hated (as appropriate) to the point the books took over my life while reading. I often found myself furious at the writer because of all the horrible things she put “my friends” and I through! 😉 I have only watched the first episode of the Outlander series and I am hooked and can’t wait for enough personal time to be able to watch the rest…

Can’t wait to try and make these cupcakes! Perhaps I will enjoy them while watching Outlander. Thanks for the great idea!!

Hi Tessa, just catching up on my emails and discovered your post – these look delish! I first read Outlander, or Cross Stitch as it’s called in Australia, about 20 years ago and have read all of Diana’s books several times since then, waiting feverishly for the next instalment. Enjoy! xx

going to make these DELISH cupcakes today. Enjoy the outlander books. I’ve read them 6 times over the years and they never disappoint. Try to read the books before the TV series. Way better, not the the TV series isn’t good, it’s great just missing small details. And Jamie….Yummm

I notice the recipe calls for Bread Flour which I cannot buy on the Greek island where we live. Will All Purpose Flour be in order ? I know my response is very late, but I only just found the recipe.xx

I made these for a baby shower and they were a HUGE hit! I had some people say it’s the best cupcake they ever had. They were beautiful and the carved out center allowed room for me to put a little plastic “baby” in one for someone to find and win a prize. Just be sure to tell guests in advance if you plan to do this! I wish I could share a pic, but don’t know how. Thanks for this great recipe!

They won’t be! These cupcakes are SO moist that the extra protein in the bread flour helps them set up a firm enough shape to be filled. You can trying substituting with all-purpose flour but as I have never done so in this recipe I can’t guarantee it’ll work as well.

This cupcake is perfect. I have rather picky culinarians in the family and everyone agreed. Best cupcake ever. Am hosting a small reception after the wedding vows on our deck and wondered if I could freeze the cupcakes a week before and then put the nutella and frosting on the day of the event?

This is my first attempt at truly homemade cupcakes and I think I have a small problem, I don’t want to share any because they’re so good! I took these to work and everyone loved them, I will be making these many more times & can’t wait to try more of your recipes!

I made these last night for my father’s birthday. In full disclosure though, I didn’t have much time, so I cheated by using a Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix. That made 18 cupcakes. I still did the Nutella part, as well as whipped up the raspberry buttercream frosting following your directions. I only had 1-1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, so I used half a stick of salted. I also couldn’t find seedless raspberry preserves with the time I had, so I used Smucker’s sugar free raspberry preserves, and the frosting covered all 18 cupcakes perfectly, though in hindsight I could certainly have put even more on, but they were pretty loaded with frosting! I will definitely be making these again. These are by far the most “gourmet” cupcakes I have ever made, and I still used Betty Crocker, so next time I’ll be making these 100% homemade, because I just feel like I owe it to the recipe to do so! Thank you so much for this great recipe, it is amazing! Everyone loved them.

I made this icing today and stuffed the Nutella into a gluten free chocolate cupcake mix. This icing is so good! I don’t bake often or try new recipes very much, but I really enjoyed making this. I’ll be making it again but will try the cake recipe as written. Thanks!

I LOVED these cupcakes. They were a huge hit….just follow the recipe. The only thing I would recommend is to whisk or gently mix the cupcake batter before baking because mine had white specs of flour after they were baked. Other than that, they were moist, soft and oh so tasty.

Now Available: The Magic of Baking Online Class

The Magic of Baking online class is now available! I created this class to show you how to bake with complete confidence, every single time. Join now to get exclusive access to all of my best baking lessons, videos, PDFs, and photos. I’ll show you the secret science of baking in a fun and visual way. The best part? It’s all waiting for you to go through at your own convenience!

Join the Handle the Heat Community

Do you want a more delicious life? Instead of digging through cookbooks and magazines and searching the internet for amazing recipes, subscribe to Handle the Heat to receive new recipe posts delivered straight to your email inbox. You’ll get all the latest recipes, videos, kitchen tips and tricks AND my *free* Cookie Customization Guide (because I am the Cookie Queen)!